Queensland energy prices set to rise by 14 per cent

Dec 18

The Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) has recommended in a report released today that energy cost
should rise over the 12 months by nearly 14%, potentially adding
$840 to a business's energy bills and $280 to a home owner's energy
bill.

The costs reflect increases across all components of the supply
of energy to the end consumer.

Component increases are:

Cost of energy: 11% increase

Network costs: 20% increase

Retail costs: 18% increase

These components contribute the following to the end consumer's
energy bill:

Network: 47% contribution

Energy: 44% contribution

Retail: 9% contribution

These numbers show that the increase in network costs makes the
largest contribution towards this coming round of bill
increases.

Make It Cheaper
says: "Today's announcement brings home the fact that
energy bills are not going to come down anytime soon. What's
more concerning is that both Origin Energy and AGL suggest that
some of the calculations around the increase in the cost of
producing and supplying energy actually underestimate what the true
cost may be. This means that businesses and
consumers in Queensland can
expect price increases not just next year, but in
years to come."

Whilst the margin retailers can make out of consumers is capped
at 5%, the end cost the businesses pay is down how they buy the raw
commodity. This means that some suppliers end up being
significantly more competitive than others, making shopping around
and switching a worthwhile business.